The administrative court today has issued a court order to stop Tawfik Okasha's daily tv show on his channel infamous "Al Faraeen". Needless to say many so-called revolutionary figures are extremely happy with that news as well many people who consider him as a clown. Of course I can't blame them but nobody want to understand that this is against the Freedom of expression.
We have to read the Legal reasons that support this court order because we are speaking about dangerous violation of human rights today , this is not a victory for the revolution for God sake. I have no doubt that this court order will be used against the pro-revolutioinary groups showing them as fascist groups that fight the freedom of expression , the same thing hundreds have been killed for through out last year and hundreds are ready to die for this year as well !!
TV shows should not be shut down because of different political views like that even if they were the views of Okasha because simply it is him today and tomorrow it will be anyone like Reem Magued or Yosri Fouda. I know it sounds strange that I seem to be defending some disrespectful person like Okasha but I am defending a principle here.
Okasha already should have been stopped and fined for the exclipit and indecent words he says all the time by the Nile Sat company and GAFI from very long time just like Madhat Shalabi if you remember his exclipit joke and the price he paid for.
April 6 Youth movement is behind that lawsuit as they had enough of his daily accusations to them with treason and freemasonry but now they will be portrayed as anti-freedom of expression movement.
I will say one thing , popularism will not build a great nation.
@Rouelshimi: Actually this is not a freedom of expression question. Freedom of expression does not mean any journalist buying a TV station and airing on it whatever he wants, while distorting facts, presenting complete works of fiction as facts (and providing no evidence) and spreading rumors.
ReplyDeleteToday's count order is of course a gain for the revolution. If freedom of expression means we'll allow for bad, ridiculous Journalism, then I don;t want it. Your argument regarding Reem Maguid and Yosri Fouda doesn't work as they actually present facts and in case of a similar law suit can show evidence for their claims unlike Okasha.
It's true, but the problem in case of Egypt is that their government and head of state the SCAF is in business of inventing facts!
DeleteIt's dangerous precedent precisely because of this, they should also jail the SCAF to be consistent. What are the odds of that happening?
I admit that people like Okasha would have been banned or sued on the stuff he aired in democratic western countries such as UK, but the difference lies in the authorities.
Ya Rou remember that Glenn Beck and Alex Jone in the States got their TV and Radio shows saying crazy stuff away from facts and yet no one drags them to the court.
DeleteYes Okasha is one big fat rude dirty liar and he is dangerous yet I can't and will not make the martyr of freedom of expression nor will I jeopardize that this would the beginning of a witch hunt against the rest of TV shows
In the same way the family of Mubarak can drag to court anyone speaks about them without a single proof to make them
Rou, you are wrong and Zeinobia is right. Freedom of expression means nothing when it applies only to non-offensive speech, or speech with which you agree. The remedy for objectionable speech is speech in response. Combat lies, if that's what you think they are, not by stifling speech, but by telling the truth.
Deletegreat as usual :)
ReplyDeleteAre you aware of any specific "crazy stuff away from facts" pertaining to Glenn Beck. His greatest "failing" was being too informative and hard on the Obama administration and its radical supporters who want to bring down a real democracy.
ReplyDeleteIn America if he falsely accused anyone he would be sued for libel.Beck is too dramatic for many but the fears he expressed are held by a majority of Americans. The Occupy groups are just another tool of the far left. It is ironical that most of the occupiers have more opportunities and higher quality of life than most Egyptians. I do agree with you that free speech is essential for liberty and democracy.
"...popularism will not build a great nation." Well said, and that applies not just to decisions against quircky tv programs, but more generally to guard against the urge to feed into appeasing the masses on social, religious, economic and political issues at the expense of sustainable change.
ReplyDeletehttp://balasticman.blogspot.com/
This is a trap, to show that the revolutionaries only defend free speech when it suits them. And yes, it does give Okasha a status he doesn't deserve, as a martyr because of his opinions.
ReplyDeleteBesides, Okasha the clown is not the problem.
The state TV and newspapers, which are far, far more influential, and are funded by us, have committed serious, indictable crimes and being allowed to continue to inject their poison into people's minds: inciting sectarian hatred and violence during the Maspero massacre, constant slander and libel against the revolutionaries, and false "confessions" by children that they knew the state kidnapped and tortured for this purpose, among other things.
Freedom of expression only works when there is a %99 literacy rate in the country because people would know what’s right from what’s wrong. However, when you have %40 literacy in the country and the other %60 don’t know any thing but “what am I going eat or feed my family today?” or…”should I enter the bath room with my right or left foot”, then you have to be careful on what you feed these poor people over the TV. BTW when I say “literacy” I don’t mean the inability to write or read.
ReplyDelete